Found another way to solve the "Firewall exception each time Captivate is launched" problem

Report · Feb 03, 2016

Reference original discussion: Firewall exception each time Captivate 8 is launched

Since I'm a little wary about running EXEs from sources unknown to me, I have found another way which doesn't require modifying any Captivate files, but rather to run it with a privileged account (SYSTEM). (Yes, I know this also has risks, but I'm going to trust Microsoft and Adobe slightly more in this case.) I'm posting it here since the original thread seems to be closed.

1) Download and install PsExec from Microsoft's site at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/psexec.aspx

2) Determine the path to the executable for your particular version of Captivate. You can right click on the shortcut in the program menu to find it, or navigate through your program files directories. For example: "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 9 x64\AdobeCaptivate.exe"

3) Run a command prompt (CMD.exe) as an administrator

4) Run psexec -i -s YOURPROGRAMPATH

For example: psexec -i -s "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Captivate 9 x64\AdobeCaptivate.exe"

Captivate will run without complaining. The Windows Firewall will not interfere with it.

5) If desired, you could also create a shortcut that runs this same command line. Just make sure it runs as administrator.

Note: Your antivirus may or may not give a warning. AVG gives me one after I shut down the program. You can either make an exemption for adobecaptivatews, turn off your AV temporarily, etc. Since each AV program is different I won't try to advise on this part.

If you find another or a better solution, please share!

Report · Mar 20, 2016

This does work, but it also starts Captivate in initial installation mode. No preferences are loaded, including any custom workspaces. Luckily, the preferences are not deleted from the hard drive because when I later started Captivate without using the method you posted, it loaded normally, albeit of course with the usual firewall warning.